His movies, perhaps barring one, set the cash registers ringing. Hoping for another hit, filmmaker Saji Surendran is keeping his fingers crossed for his upcoming release Angry Babies In Love . According to Saji, there is not a dull moment in the romantic comedy starring Anoop Menon and Bhavana.
Jeevan (Anoop) and Sarah (Bhavana) are childhood friends who fall in love. “While Sarah comes from an affluent family, Jeevan is from a middle class family and works as a photographer. Their blossoming love is met with opposition from their families and they elope to Mumbai.”
They however, soon realise that marriage is not a bed a roses. “It’s a situation most of us can relate to. Love is often blind when we are courting; reality bites post marriage. Most movies stop when the couple walk down the aisle; we have focussed on what happens after the couple gets married. Whether Jeevan and Sarah manage to make their marriage work forms the crux of the film.”
The movie was shot predominantly in Mumbai. “We had to shoot most of the movie secretly, as there is a strict rule against shooting in public in Mumbai. In fact, our cameras were confiscated several times by the police. I am a huge Shah Rukh Khan fan and must have watched his Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge at least a thousand times. I was thrilled when we managed to shoot a scene with the security guard posted outside his house.”
The filmmaker laughs when asked about the rumours that spread during the shoot of the movie that Anoop and Bhavana were in love and were planning to marry.
“We were secretly shooting a scene between Anoop and Bhavana at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus when a couple of Malayali fans approached them. They asked Anoop if he was there for a shoot for a movie and he said in jest that Bhavana and he were eloping as their parents opposed their union. I guess the fans actually believed it; the gossip mill was soon abuzz.”
It is the first time Saji is working without his lucky charm Jayasurya in a movie. Says Saji: “Anoop and I go a long way back. We have worked together on several of my serials; ‘December Mist’ and ‘Megham’, for instance. Although he did a cameo role for Ivar Vivahitharayal , this is the first time he is doing a full length role in my movie, although we have often talked about it. Angry Babies In Love is a story line he told me during our serial days. Krishna Poojappura developed it into a script and wrote the screenplay and dialogues.”
Saji is planning to start work on She Taxi to Guruvayur and an untitled film with Jayaram. “ She Taxi to Guruvayur will be a female oriented movie. It revolves around a She Taxi driver who drives a family to Guruvayur. We haven’t finalised who will play the lead role as yet. It will be a fun filled movie and so will the movie with Jayaram.”
Angry Babies In Love is scheduled to reach theatres this weekend. Anusree, P. Balachandran, Jojo and Nishant are also in the cast. The movie, produced by Darshan Ravi, is released under the banner LJ Creations. Lyrics by Anoop Menon, Vayalar Sharat Varma and Rajeev Alunkal have been set to tune by Bijibal. Anil Nair cranks the camera.
